Sir Elton John celebrates 3,000th live performance

The 64-year-old music legend marked the impressive milestone with his show – The Million Dollar Piano – at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. He then posed with a giant cake emblazoned with 'EJ3K'.

The landmark concert also marked the 40th anniversary of his Las Vegas debut, aged just 24.

During his 41-year career of live performances, Sir Elton has performed in 74 countries and played an average of 73 gigs per year. The impressive figure does not include the multitude of pre-recorded gigs he has also done for TV.

The veteran entertainer, who performed his first-ever gig on his 23rd birthday at London’s Revolution Club on 25 March 1970, has played more concerts in the USA than any other country – a total of 1,608 – and at least one in each of the 50 states.

The UK comes next with 497, followed by Australia (138), Germany (133), and Canada (102).

He has even performed two shows on the same day – on 18 September 1971, he played in Oakland and San Diego, while on 2 July 2005, he played at Live 8 in London and at RDS Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

During his remarkable career, the I’m Still Standing singer has won six Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Tony Award. He is only one Emmy award away from the coveted EGOT (Emmy-Golden Globe-Oscar-Tony).